Galatians 5:13
"For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don't use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love."
What a thought, we can't say we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior and then continue doing all the things we did before. ( His death and resurrection has given us freedom to say one thing and then do another.) This is FALSE thinking and is only dangerous to our growth and maturity in Christ. What we thought was so good before Christ, we must consider garbage because He has freed us from living to satisfy ourselves and filled us with the Holy Spirit who shows us how to live for others.
The joy of the cross is sharing and living a way that is pleasing to God not what is pleasing to us. We need to really read what Paul says in Philippians chapter 3 verses 7-11 and let them sink in to our hearts. "But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ-the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead." I say re-read it again now! There is a power that comes from us surrendering and seeing the things we did for our flesh as rubbish. We need nothing but Jesus and when we accept Him as Lord and Savior we receive the Holy Spirit to help guide us off these fleshly desires that will continue to come into our minds.
Our growth and maturity depends on our own passion to learn and seek wisdom. We can drink milk and stay an infant, which we will find ourselves loving two gods; the world and what we feel is fun for us to do and two, the Lord who we will struggle having a relationship with because we can't let go of our flesh. Paul says in Galatians chapter 5 verse 24, "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to His cross and crucified them there." We can't do the worldly things we did before Christ and think we are maturing off the milk. We need to let God transform us into His image and listen to the Holy Spirit inside of us who is showing us a new way of living. Verse 6 says, "Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit's leading in every part of our lives."
We are new creations and we need to start acting like it, if we need the worldly things we once did to have fun, we are missing out on what we have in Christ. He is what gives us the joy and peace we need to have the best life and the most fun. Amen
"For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don't use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love."
What a thought, we can't say we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior and then continue doing all the things we did before. ( His death and resurrection has given us freedom to say one thing and then do another.) This is FALSE thinking and is only dangerous to our growth and maturity in Christ. What we thought was so good before Christ, we must consider garbage because He has freed us from living to satisfy ourselves and filled us with the Holy Spirit who shows us how to live for others.
The joy of the cross is sharing and living a way that is pleasing to God not what is pleasing to us. We need to really read what Paul says in Philippians chapter 3 verses 7-11 and let them sink in to our hearts. "But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ-the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead." I say re-read it again now! There is a power that comes from us surrendering and seeing the things we did for our flesh as rubbish. We need nothing but Jesus and when we accept Him as Lord and Savior we receive the Holy Spirit to help guide us off these fleshly desires that will continue to come into our minds.
Our growth and maturity depends on our own passion to learn and seek wisdom. We can drink milk and stay an infant, which we will find ourselves loving two gods; the world and what we feel is fun for us to do and two, the Lord who we will struggle having a relationship with because we can't let go of our flesh. Paul says in Galatians chapter 5 verse 24, "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to His cross and crucified them there." We can't do the worldly things we did before Christ and think we are maturing off the milk. We need to let God transform us into His image and listen to the Holy Spirit inside of us who is showing us a new way of living. Verse 6 says, "Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit's leading in every part of our lives."
We are new creations and we need to start acting like it, if we need the worldly things we once did to have fun, we are missing out on what we have in Christ. He is what gives us the joy and peace we need to have the best life and the most fun. Amen
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